Paint It Red
by ZerKoraa
Summary: Yao Wang was a senior in high school, living with his odd and somewhat dysfunctional family. He had a passion for art, and loved to paint. When he meets a strange man with a scarf, he can't seem to stop painting him. RoChu, other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Boy With The Scarf**

"야오! 나는 새로운 학교에 가고 싶어 하지 않습니다 ! _(Yao! I don't wanna go to school!)_," an annoyed male teen cried from the back of the car. Another male sighed out of frustration, looking at him with an expression of irritation.

"Yong Soo, you know that we can barely understand you when you speak Korean," the boy said. Yong Soo puffed out his cheeks and poked the other male in the shoulder quite hard, earning a small 'ow' from him.

"We don't judge you for speaking Chinese Leon!" He crossed his arms as Leon narrowed his eyes.

"That's because Yao, Linnie and me speak Chinese. You're adopted, remember? Speak a language we can understand."

"Stop calling me Linnie," a girl in the middle row of the car said, seated next to two other teens, a male and a female.

Yong Soo pouted, smacking Leon in the arm. "H-hey! That's rude y'know! 당신은 얼간이 야!_ (You're a douche bag!)_"

"Yong Soo, you know that when you start speaking Korean we can tell you're cursing at us. Stop that," said the girl in the middle row of the car. "And Leon, don't judge you're brother just because he was adopted."

"Linnie, you have no room to talk," Leon retorted with a blank face.

" 閉嘴！_(Shut up!)_"

"你閉嘴！_(No you shut up!)_"

"別那樣和我說話! _(Don't talk to me like that!)_"

"去死吧！_(Drop dead)_"

"Why don't you both shut up-aru," grumbled another boy, who was driving the car. "You guys are always so bothersome." He let out a sigh of exasperation. "Lin Yi, don't yell at your brother, and Leon, learn to be less insensitive."

"管好你自己的事! _(Mind your own business!)_" they both shouted at their elder brother, whom shook his head in disapproval.

"少來這一套。_(Knock it off)_"

"哪兒涼快哪兒歇著去吧。_(Take a hike)_," Lin Yi said, waving him off.

"你氣死我了。_(You piss me off)_," Leon grumbled. Yong Soo turned to another boy sitting next to him, and whispered to him.

"This is why I'm glad we don't speak Chinese Kiku..." The other boy, Kiku, nodded, staring at his family as the proceeded to argue.

* * *

The dysfunctional family finally arrived at the school, still arguing by the time they got out of the car. Kiku walked alongside Yong Soo, while Lin Yi and Leon yelled at each other in Chinese. Another boy began chatting with the other girl standing beside him.

"They sure are an argumentative bunch aren't they Nhu?" The girl looked at him and nodded quietly.

"The only sane one is Kiku, and even he has his moments...," Nhu said. "By the way Chakrii... Do you think we'll be able to fit in? I mean these guys have been attending this school for a while, and me and you are new..." Chakrii stared at his older adopted sister for a few moments, before smiling.

"Of course we will! Besides, we have these guys!"

They both turned their attention towards their adopted family, only to see them arguing with each other. Yao was hitting Leon in the side with his backpack, while also scolding Lin Yi in Chinese.

"你氣死我了啦! _(You make me so mad!)_," he shouted, stomping one foot on the ground. He let out a sigh. "I give up-aru. I'm going to go find my classes. Good luck." As he walked away, Kiku ran behind him, trying not to fall behind.

"Y-yao-kun! Wait up!"

The other siblings simply trailed behind slowly, taking their sweet time to get to class.

* * *

Upon entering the school, Nhu and Chakrii were escorted to the office, while the others simply went to class. Since they were new to the country, the needed more help then the others did. While the others were walking to their classes, a boy with sunny blond hair and glasses quickly ran up to them, a bright smile on his face.

"Yo! Sup dudes! I see you guys actually made it to school on time! Must've been a miracle!" Yao grimaced, recalling the car ride to school.

"Not at all-aru...," he muttered.

"It just took us a little less time to argue than usual, Alfred-san," Kiku said. Alfred frowned.

"What did I say about calling me "san" Keeks? Just call me Alfred. No need to be so formal." Kiku flushed, bowing in apology.

"S-sorry Alfred..." Yao and Leon snickered, causing Lin Yi to puff out her cheeks.

"You guys should lay off poor Kiku! Ugh, I'm going to class." She walked off in a huff. Leon scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm going too, he mumbled, before walking off after Lin Yi. That just left Yao and Kiku with Alfred. The cheery American smiled at Kiku, grabbing his schedule while he was caught off guard.

"Let's see what classes you got!" Kiku stood on his tiptoes trying to reach for it, but Alfred held it high enough so he couldn't reach it.

"A-alfred!," Kiku yelled. He jumped as high as he could to get back his schedule, but to no avail. Alfred ignored the shorter male's protest.

"Oh hey! We have chemistry and english together! Good thing too, or I would be stuck with Artie all year, and you know how boring he can get. Come on! Lets go!" Alfred grabbed his wrist, pulling him down the hall to their first period class. Yao smiled at the two, and yelled-

"Have fun with your boyfriend 小弟!_ (Little Brother)_," he said, earning a surprised look from Kiku, his face turning beet red. He tried to say something, but was quickly dragged around the corner by the stronger male. Yao chuckled to himself, before taking a look at his schedule.

_'I have IB History... Room 234. Ugh, that's all the way on the second floor.' _He let out a small sigh, before making his way up the stairs.

* * *

Once Yao found his classroom, it was pretty easy from there. Sit, listen to the teacher explain what they'll be learning this year, and make sure your parents sign the student contract. The teacher was pretty scary if Yao had to be honest. Mr. Oxenstierna was a very tall man, with blond hair, greenish-blue eyes, and he wore glasses. There was just an aura about him that frightened Yao.

But the most frightening aura came from behind him. Even though he wasn't looking, he could feel a cold presence, even colder than Mr. Oxenstierna's. But he shrugged it off, focusing on what the teacher was saying.

"I hope you have a good year. I expect high grades from College Prep students," Mr Oxenstierna said in a monotone voice. The class began to pack before the bell rang. Yao but his history book in his backpack, as well as his notebook and pencils. Oh how he couldn't wait until lunch, then he'd be able to put his backpack in his locker. He looked at the clock to see that it was thirty seconds before the bell rang. He let out a sigh, knowing he wouldn't be able to put all of his stuff in his backpack. He picked up the rest of his things and decided to carry it. The bell rang, and everyone rushed out the door. Yao _would _heave left on time if someone didn't bump into him, causing him to drop his books.

He turned to yell at them, but his voice caught in his throat when his brown eyes were met with violet. There stood a man who towered over Yao, intimidating, but he smiled sheepishly at him.

"Sorry about that. I'll help you pick them up, da?," the man said with a Russian accent. Yao just stared at him, the thing standing out most being the scarf around his next.

_'But it's still late August... Why is he wearing that?' _He thought to himself, watching the man pick up his books. Yao bent down, and noticed the strange aura emanating from him. He gulped, but kept his eyes down as he picked up his things. They both stood, eyes meeting once again. The man smiled and handed Yao his books. Something about him was off...

"I should be going now. I'll so you later hopefully. Goodbye." With a small wave, he left, leaving Yao in the doorway. He shook his head, quickly leaving the classroom.

_'Well that was weird.'_

* * *

Upon entering their home, chaos immediately commenced. Lin Yi was arguing with Leon again, Kiku trying to politely tell them to stop, but to no avail. Yao sighed, rolling his eyes at his chaotic siblings.

_'Why is it that the ones I'm related to are the most chaotic?' _He thought to himself, letting out an exasperated sigh. He trudged up the stairs, thankful to have his own room. This way he could at least try to block out his siblings' bickering. Of course he didn't hear the quiet set of footsteps following him. It wasn't until he got to his room that he noticed a dog climb onto his bed, nestling himself into his panda covered blankets.

"Pochi! What are you doing in my room-aru?! You know that Kiku is probably looking for you!," he scolded, but the dog didn't listen, and soon enough there was a knock at his door. He opened it to see a frantic Kiku.

"Have you seen Pochi?," he asked, before noticing the dog on his bed. Kiku smiled, walking over and picking it up. "Naughty boy, running off like that." He was about to leave until he noticed the blank look on Yao's face.

"Um, Yao-kun, are you alright?" He looked at his older brother worriedly, but Yao just gave him a tired smile.

"I'm fine 小弟 _(Little Brother)_," Yao said, trying to soothe his brother's nerves. "You should go and feed Pochi. Maybe later we can watch one of your movies together, alright?"

His brother nodded, still slightly unconvinced. Kiku left the room, leaving Yao to his thoughts. He laid down on his bed, arms resting behind his head. A single thought passed through his mind.

_'Who was that man?'_

* * *

**_Yo, yo, yo. This is my first Hetalia fanfiction, and I'm quite proud of the first chapter. As you've probably already guessed, it's RoChu, with a few other pairings sprinkled in here and there. I really wanted to write RoChu for some reason, and then I got ideas when I was thinking long and hard about Ivan's scarf for some reason. Weird huh? Well anyways, enough rambling. Time for a little explanation on who's who since two of these names aren't official human names_**

**_Vietnam is Nhu, and Thailand is Chakrii. You should already know the others right? Also, Lin Yi, Leon, and Yao are the only ones who are related by blood. The others are adopted._**

**_Kora signing off! Ciao~!_**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Meaning

It was officially morning time, and Yao, knowing the chaos his family got into in the morning, really didn't want to get out of bed. He groaned, slowly sitting up, stretching and yawning as he looked at the time.

Six Fifteen.

Immediately Yao bolted up from his bed, before running out into the hallway.

_'Crap! I didn't set the alarm! We're going to be late!' _He panicked_. _He loudly banged on his siblings doors, not caring about the yelling and complaints.

"Guys wake up!" He shouted. "We're going to be late!"

"閉嘴！_(Shut up!)_," yelled Lin Yi as she emerged from her bedroom, her eyes filled with sleep.

"你知道現在都幾點嗎？ _(Do you know what time it is?)_ 準備上學 _(Get ready for school)," _he said, clearly annoyed and frustrated. Lin Yi sighed, before heading back into her room to get dressed. To Yao's surprise, Kiku was already awake, sitting on his bed all dressed and ready for school.

"Oh, hi Yao-kun," Kiku said nonchalantly. "Did you enjoy your extra thirty minutes of sleep?" Words could not describe how much Yao wanted to hurt his younger brother.

"You were awake this whole time-aru?! Why didn't you wake anyone up?!" Kiku flinched slightly, fear flickering through his eyes for a moment before going back to their emotionless state.

"I didn't want to be rude." He stated simply.

_'Is he getting a sick kick out of angering me too?' _

Yao let out a frustrated sigh, deciding that yelling wasn't going to help the current situation.

"Just, wait until everyone else is ready. And stop calling me Yao-kun alright? I'm your big brother, so feel free to refer to me as such." Kiku hesitated for a moment before nodding, looking down slightly. Yao didn't really think about it too much, and went to see how his other siblings were doing.

"Chakrii! Nhu! Are you guys awake?!" The door to Nhu's room opened and she peeked outside, looking at her elder sibling.

"Chào Yao _(Good morning Yao)_," she said.

"Good morning to you too Nhu," Yao said, actually being able to understand what she was saying. Ever since she was adopted, she'd greet the rest of the family like that every morning. Yao picked up on what it meant eventually, as did the rest of the family. "Ready for school?"

"Not really," she mumbled, stepping outside into the hallway, already dressed for school. "I don't feel comfortable..." Yao smiled, ruffling her hair a bit.

"Don't worry about it-aru! You were fine yesterday, and besides, you have Chakrii in most of your classes right? You'll be fine-aru. Now go downstairs and wait while I get the others." Nhu nodded, turning and leaving while Yao opened the door to Yong Soo's room. And there he was, snoring in bed. Yao picked up a pillow on the floor, throwing it at him. This caused the other boy to wake up with a start.

"Wake up-aru! You're supposed to be getting ready for school!" Yong Soo pouted, puffing out his cheeks.

"You don't need to throw things at me! A simple 'Hey wake up' would've been appreciated." He let out a small huff, crawling out of bed. Yao checked the clock sitting on Yong Soo's night table.

_Six Fifty Five_

Yao gulped, rushing over to Leon's room. He burst through the door to see his youngest brother awake already.

"Thank god someone is ready-aru..."

"Well you're yelling was an indicator that, like, you wanted everyone to get ready."

"Just go downstairs and wait for the others."

After bumbling around for the next ten minutes and getting dressed at the same time, Yao had finally gotten everyone up and ready for the day.

_'I can already tell today is going to be horrible...'_

* * *

"Dude you look like a total wreck," Alfred said, poking Yao's cheeks. Yao growled lowly at his "friend."

"Yeah? Well you would too if you had to wake up six people in the morning all on your own-aru. It's times like this when you need parents," Yao said with a sigh.

"Well you could've just stayed with your Aunt and Uncle while your parents went on that business trip. I mean, didn't they offer you to stay at their place?," another boy spoke up.

"It's not that easy Arthur-aru. You see, they didn't know how many of us there were, so when they saw how big the family was, they took back the offer. Not enough room they said-aru. And to be honest, I wouldn't take us in either. We're loud, argumentative, and dysfunctional..."

Alfred pat Yao on the back. "Oh come on bro! There must be some upsides to having no parents in the house! Like for example, you get to bring home any girl you want. And with no parents, you don't have to worry about being too loud when you-"

"I get the point-aru," Yao interrupted, cheeks flushing. "Anyways, shouldn't we be getting to class? The bell's going to ring any minute-aru."

"Good point," Arthur said. "I'll see you at lunch. Come on Alfred."

With that, the two left, and Yao walked of to class. He let out a long sigh, completely exhausted even though his day just began. He went upstairs to History, folding his arms on his desk when he sat down. He wasn't really in the mood to do anything related to school. A sudden chill swept through the room, and Yao immediately knew the cause of it.

_'Oh. It's that guy.'_

The boy with the scarf. As he walked past Yao to go sit down, he flashed him a small smile, looking as innocent as ever. Yao just stared back at him with a perplexed expression, not understanding what he was smiling about. He went to sit down after that. It was a bit quieter, and Yao could hear faint whispers coming from the other kids.

"Did you see that? Ivan just smiled at Yao."

"I think that means something bad is about to happen!"

"I know right! Poor Yao. Probably won't make it to graduation..."

_'So his name is Ivan_," Yao thought, glancing behind him to see Ivan smiling at him. Yao shivered slightly, suddenly feeling cold, even though it was seventy degrees outside. They did live in Los Angeles after all.

Yao let out a long sigh. "I can already tell this is going to be a long day..."

* * *

After sitting through a few boring notes and lectures from teachers, it was finally time for art class, Yao's favorite subject. He always liked art, all forms of it in fact. Especially painting. For some reason it calmed him when he was stressed. And he was extremely stressed out.

The teacher was Ms. Bonnefoy, a French woman whom had a son who attended the school, and he was also a senior. On the first day, she talked about him nonstop, talking about how talented he was, almost forgetting to even go over the curriculum. But she was interesting, and the paintings she had hanging up all over the room looked amazing to Yao. But the one that interested him the most of was one of a man and a young boy, watching the night sky. They were sitting on a hilltop, and the moon was large and bright.

Yao could never paint anything like that.

Ms. Bonnefoy sat down at her desk. "Good morning everyone. Today we are going to bring out your inner artiste, bien? I want to see your passion fly across the canvas, and I want to see what lies in your soul." She talked dramatically, making various hand motions to get her point across. "There is no wrong way to express yourself. Be free. Everything is parfait! You may get to work."

Yao liked Ms. Bonnefoy. She seemed like a very nice woman. Whoever her son is, he's a lucky guy.

Yao stared at his canvas, before making a quick sketch. It was a man who stood in a crowd of people, alone. Yao grabbed a palette, a few brushes, and some paint. He picked up a thin brush, gently painting the man. He then picked up a larger brush, painting the faceless crowd around him. He then added a final detail to the man, which was a red scarf, so he would stand out against the crowd. Ms. Bonnefoy walked up behind Yao, a small smile on her lips.

"Oh my. What a beautiful painting Yao. You're a true artiste eh? But I have a question."

"Yes Ms. Bonnefoy?" Yao looked nervous, as if it would be a bad critique.

"Who is that man? The one with the scarf. What does he represent?"

Yao looked at his picture, staring at it for a moment before remembering that Ms. Bonnefoy asked him a question. "O-oh... I-I don't know actually-aru..."

"Hm... Maybe that's something you should figure out. All art must have meaning, oui?"

"Y-yeah-aru..." Ms. Bonnefoy smiled at Yao, before walking off to check on the other students. He looked at his painting for a moment, studying it. "Meaning...," he said to himself. As he studied the painting more, he noticed the man looked familiar. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but it felt like he knew this person. But of course he couldn't, it's a man in a painting. Right?

After a few minutes, the bell rung, and everyone left. Yao picked up his bag, glancing at his painting once more, before leaving.

_'All art must have meaning...'_

* * *

"Yo Yao! What took you so long to get here dude?," Alfred yelled from the lunch table as Yao approached them. He sat down, next to his brother Kiku.

"I was doing something-aru."

"Nah, you're just slow bro. Anyways, me and Keeks were talking about the latest issue of Gamers Weekly! Artie here was being a grouch as always."

"Shut up you bloody git!," Arthur shouted.

"C-calm down...," Kiku said quietly. "But yes, we were talking about Gamers Weekly. Although some of their reviews were a bit unfair."

"I know right! Hero Parade totally deserved a higher score!," Alfred exclaimed. Arthur suddenly groaned.

"What's wrong Arthur-aru?," Yao asked.

"That bloody frog is here. _Francis. _He's in my IB Calculus class. The wanker flirts with anyone and everyone."

Suddenly, a boy appeared behind Arthur, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"Talking about me again I see, Kirkland. No need to be so bitter. We may be rivaux, as some people would say, but there's no need to embarrass yourself in front of your friends eh?" Arthur's face was flushed with anger, and he swatted the Frenchman away from him.

"Go away you bloody git! Don't you have people to sexually harass?" Francis frowned for a moment, before winking at Arthur.

"Ah, someone is jealous, oui? Do you want attention from moi?"

"Not a chance frog. Now go eat lunch in the teacher's lounge like you always do, since you're a mummy's boy."

"I would, but maman's in a meeting with the rest of the art department. The struggles of being a teacher eh?"

"Mother?," Yao asked. "Your mother is a teacher here-aru?"

"Oui. Ms. Bonnefoy. Do you have her by any chance?"

"I do actually-aru. I'm in the IB art program."

"IB program? Ah, a true lover of art I see." Francis checked his watch. "Oh look at the time. I must be off now, maman's meeting is over. Until we meet again, amis." He glanced at Arthur. "And Kirkland. Au revoir."

And with that, he left. Arthur scowled, obviously sour.

"Bloody git...," he mumbled to himself. Alfred decided to change the subject.

"So Yao, I've heard that Ivan has been creeping on you."

"What?," Yao asked, obviously confused.

"That creepy Russian kid with the scarf. People have said he's been checking you out. You might want to think about switching schools bro."

"But why? Ivan seems like a normal kid-aru."

Alfred frowned. "Look, my friend Toris used to hang out with him up until last year. It was him and two other kids. They said that he was a freaky dude, always carrying around a lead pipe whenever they hung out. They were terrified of him."

Yao nodded, slowly taking in the information. So that Ivan guy was a creep? Well at least he knew now so he could be a bit more wary of him.

"I see-aru..." Yao began to eat his lunch, thinking to himself while the others chatted amongst themselves.

* * *

It was the last period of the day, Chemistry. Chemistry was definitely _not _Yao's strong point. He hated Chemistry. But it was required, so not like he had much of a choice. He found out that Francis had made a transfer into his class after the first day of school, something about it conflicting with one of his electives. Yao couldn't exactly remember. So Francis decided to sit by him.

"Bonjour ami. It's nice to see you again without that annoying black sheep trying to start things eh?"

"Yes-aru. But I didn't know you two were so bitter with each other."

"Ah yes. We've been that way ever since middle school. Arthur is the only bitter one here, but it's fun to tease him." Francis glanced up, seeing a familiar tan scarf. "Oh, it's Ivan," he whispered.

_'Oh right. He's in my Chemistry class too.'_

"I've heard of him... My friend Alfred said he was a bad person-aru."

"I don't know whether or not he's a person. But he just has the weird aura about him. Me donne des frissons." Francis shivered slightly.

"What?"

"Ah nothing. Class is starting soon. We should get out our notebooks to take notes, oui?"

"R-right..."

Their teacher was Mr. Hernández Carriedo, but he explained to the class to just call him Mr. Carriedo. He was a very cheerful guy, and he looked really young. Yao figured he must have been in his early to mid twenties.

"Alright class, settle down. Today is going to be an easy day. We're going to be doing a worksheet." The class groaned at this, but Mr. Carriedo interrupted them. "Oh calm down. It's not that big of a deal. You can work on it with a partner if you'd like to, and you're allowed to use your book for this assignment."

Everyone moved around the room, calling over others to come and work with them. Yao, being next to Francis, didn't have to move.

As they were working, Yao glanced at Ivan, who was sitting in the corner of the room all alone. He didn't work with anyone, just sat there and quietly did his work.

"He's so creepy," he heard a girl whisper.

"I know right."

"I heard that he wears that scarf all the time. Isn't that weird?"

"I heard that he hit some kid with a faucet."

Yao glanced at Ivan again. He could have sworn he saw Ivan frown deeply upon hearing the whispers about him. After a while, the bell rang and class ended. Everyone got up an packed their things. Yao left the classroom, Francis having said he needed to go to the art room to meet up with his "maman," as he called her. So he walked down the hall quietly, looking for his siblings so they could meet up and go home. He stood next to a water fountain by the front entrance, looking around for any of his siblings.

"Hello."

Yao jumped a bit, not expecting someone to talk to him. He turned his head to see Ivan Braginsky, who stared at him. This was the first time he got a real good look at the boy's face, and noticed his odd violet colored eyes and his round face along with his prominent nose.

"H-hi-aru..."

"You're Yao Wang Да?," he asked. He stared at Yao with a small smile on his face.

"Y-yeah..." Ivan must have noticed his nervousness, so he laughed a little at the smaller boy.

"No need to be so shy. I just wanted to talk."

"About what-aru?"

"Being friends! You seem like an interesting person."

Yao stared at him for a moment, somewhat surprised. "U-uh..." He looked around, before spotting Kiku, Leon, and Lin Yi standing by the large double doors that led outside. "Ah, sorry-aru. I have to go."

Ivan frowned for a split second, before smiling again. "Alright. We'll talk tomorrow then. I'll see you later Да?"

"Y-yeah..." He quickly walked over to his siblings, who had been watching him talk with the Russian male.

Lin Yi pulled Yao in close. "You were talking to _him_? Haven't you heard the rumors going around about that guy?" Yao lightly pushed Lin Yi away and sighed.

"Yes I've heard the rumors. I-."

"You have some serious guts. Isn't he, like, super creepy?" Leon interrupted.

"Alfred-san said he was.," Kiku said.

"Just calm down. It's no big deal. Let's just find the others and go home. I'm exhausted."

Yao glanced behind him once last time, seeing Ivan staring at him, before quickly leaving along with his siblings.

_'He is creepy.'_

* * *

**A/N:_ Chapter 2 is finally done. It took me a while to write this since I didn't really have too many ideas for this chapter. But I at least wanted to introduce some more characters, and get to the art class part since that plays an important role in the story._**

**_As for little Ivan, he won't do much until a bit later, and we'll probably switch to Ivan to see his perspective on things once we get there. Or at least that's how I'm planning it so far. _**

**_Ms. Bonnefoy will also play an important part in this story, as she's the art teacher. So we'll see her quite a bit. That's all I have to say._**

**_Kora signing off! Ciao~!_**


	3. Chapter 3: Phone Calls and Lunches

"Yao, how do you tell someone you, like, have a crush on them?"

Yao choked on his spit.

He went into a coughing fit, trying his best to recover from his shock. Did one of his siblings actually come to him for help? He stared at Leon, his eyes filled with shock, and the smallest hint of joy.

"Y-you have a crush on someone-aru?" For once, Leon actually looked somewhat embarrassed. He looked down at his feet, his cheeks the lightest shade of pink.

"Well yeah. And it's, like, a guy so..." He looked up at Yao, finally making eye contact with him again. "You're going to make fun of me for liking guys now aren't you?"

Yao really wasn't expecting this when they got home from school. His brother having a crush _and _being gay? What an eventful evening.

"I don't mind-aru. Everyone has their preferences."

It was Leon's turn to be shocked. "S-so you don't, like, care? I thought you'd be laughing at me right now..."

Yao raised an eyebrow. "You thought'd I'd laugh at something as silly as that. It's no big deal. Now then, who's the lucky guy-aru?" Yao smirked evilly, and Leon immediately became flustered. He looked back down at his feet, and mumbled something Yao couldn't understand. "What was that? Speak up-aru."

Leon shifted uncomfortably, wanting to be free of Yao's staring. "E-emil. You know, Lukas' younger brother?"

Yao tried to stifle his laughter, but failed. "Yeah I know him. The one who tried to bring his pet bird to school one day. That was funny."

"It's not funny when it tries to peck your eyes out." Leon let out a small huff. "Anyways, I just wanted to y'know, tell him that I liked him. Got any advice?"

Yao paused his laughter for a moment. He honestly didn't have an answer, but he didn't want to spoil his one moment where he actually felt like an older brother. He wanted to make this moment special.

"Um... well... Just be straight forward I guess?"

"That sounds more like a question than a statement. You know what, I'll just go ask Lin Yi and-."

"W-wait! I just didn't know what to say to someone like you alright! You just don't seem like the type to have a crush-aru."

Leon frowned. "Well I do. How's that so weird?"

"I-it's not. But anyways, just tell him you have a crush on him-aru. How bad could it be?"

Leon let out a sigh. "Never again shall I come to you for advice on crushes." And with that he trudged off up the stairs.

_'I'm not much of a big brother now am I?'_

Yao had never really felt like a big brother. Not even to his biological siblings. They never came to him with their problems, they never hung out with him, and never chatted to him. The worst case was Kiku, who didn't even call him big brother once since he was adopted. As much as he tried to change it, it never really worked. But at least he had his small circle of friends, so he figured it counted for something.

Suddenly the kitchen phone went off, and Yao went to pick it up. He held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Is this the Wang household?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"I work at World Edge with Mei and Chen Wang. My name is Marissa. Who's this?"

"I'm their son, Yao Wang-aru."

Yao heard some noise in the background. It sounded as if someone was... crying? He heard the woman on the phone telling them to quiet down, and to not scare him.

"Is something wrong?," he asked.

"Um... I don't know how to tell you this but..."

Yao listened to the woman on the phone, and his eyes widened in shock. "...W-what?"

His parents were dead.

* * *

The next day at school, Yao didn't feel like doing anything. When he had heard the news, he didn't even tell his siblings about anything that happened. He just went to his room, sat on his bed, and started to cry. Quietly of course. He didn't wake his siblings to hear him.

He didn't speak to any of his friends when he got to school. When they talked to him, he would just answer quickly, not really wanting to talk to anyone. They were concerned, but chose not to say anything. They figured there was something on his mind he didn't feel like talking about. Once the five minute bell rang, the all headed off to class. Yao didn't even feel like making fun of Kiku when he was effortlessly dragged off by Alfred.

He trudged up the stairs, and through the crowded hallway, not really minding the few shoves he got on the way to History. He walked into class and sat at his desk, and rested his elbows on it. He let out a short sigh. Maybe the teacher wouldn't mind if Yao took a nap. He needed one at this point.

"Hi Yao~." Yao looked up hesitantly, to see Ivan towering over him.

Yao groaned. "What do you want-aru?"

"Oh nothing much really." He plopped down into the seat next to Yao, and smiled. "So, yes or no?"

Yao gave him a look of confusion. "What?"

"Remember? I asked if you wanted to be my friend, da! Or did you forget?" Ivan got extremely close to Yao's face, making him uncomfortable.

Yao gulped. "Um, look, I don't know if this is the best time-aru."

Ivan frowned and backed away. "Why not? Is there something wrong?"

"Well you see, I'm going through a hard time right now-aru. I would just like to be left alone."

"глупый Yao! If you're going through a hard time, it's best to be surrounded by friends!" Ivan beamed at Yao, making him even more uncomfortable than he already was. "I should know." He said that part under his breath, making sure Yao couldn't hear him.

"Look Ivan-"

"We'll be great friends, da! You should come over to my house after school!"

"But I have to-"

"And you can meet my sisters! When do you have lunch? Fourth or Fifth period? I could've sworn I saw you in fifth period lunch. I have fifth period too! We can sit together!"

Yao could do nothing but laugh nervously.

* * *

"Today I want you to paint someone special to you. It could be someone in your family, or maybe even a amant~." Ms. Bonnefoy said the last word with a somewhat teasing tone, winking at everyone. "Just make sure it's someone you truly care about."

Yao frowned and stared at his blank canvas. Who could he draw that he cared about. He couldn't think of anyone. But a sudden idea popped into his brain, and he smiled a bit. Picking up his pencil, he quickly sketched two people, a man and a woman. He then picked up his palette and paint, and quickly painted them in. He looked at his work of art.

_'I didn't have anyone special so I drew a married couple... But there's something unsettling about this picture.'_

He stared at them. The woman had long ash brown hair that went down to her waist, and pretty brown eyes. She was wearing a beautiful white dress, with small flowers designs on the edges. Then man had black hair, and he had amber eyes. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a black tie, and black dress pants. They were holding hands and smiling.

Realization struck Yao like a truck.

He'd painted his parents.

Suddenly his chest tightened, and it felt as if he couldn't breathe. He could feel the tears in his eyes, and he wheezed. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Yao are you alright?"

Yao didn't answer. He just sat there, probably looking pathetic as ever. He looked at who was trying to comfort him, and it was Ms. Bonnefoy.

"Yao?"

He felt dizzy, and he knew at that mom and dad were dead. He knew they weren't coming back. And this painting was a painful reminder of that.

_'W-why did I paint this?'_

He felt darkness creeping up on him, and pretty soon, he blacked out.

* * *

"Is he going to be okay?"

Yao's vision began to come back to him, and although it was blurry, he could make out his siblings all crowded in the nurses office. Lin Yi was the first to react, encasing her brother in a bear hug.

"感谢上帝! _(Thank god!) _You're alright!"

Yao was a bit taken aback, but he wrapped his arms around he waist and returned the hug.

"The art teacher told us you fainted! We were so worried about you!," she said, not letting go of him.

"So why'd you, like, pass out?," Leon asked.

Yao froze. He didn't want to tell them the reason he fainted. He didn't have the heart to. He tried to think of a good excuse, but nothing came to him.

"It was nothing-aru... Don't worry about."

"Don't worry about it?!," Lin Yi exclaimed. "The art teacher said it looked like you were having a panic attack!"

"I-it did-aru?" Yao knew Ms. Bonnefoy was right. He probably looked pathetic, doing that in front of the entire class. "Aiyah... I must have looked like an idiot. But I'm fine, really. There's no need to worry-aru. Let's just all go back to class alright?" Yao tried his best to smile. "What period is it anyways?"

"We have lunch," Kiku said. "You missed the rest of fourth period."

Yao was genuinely surprised. "I've been unconscious that long-aru? The other's are probably worrying about me. Well then, let's go."

* * *

"Yao-Yao! Over here~!"

Yao internally groaned upon hearing Ivan calling out to him from the other side of the lunch room. He must have been pretty loud, since everyone in the cafeteria got really quiet. All that was heard were a few whispers.

"Yao talks to _Ivan_?"

"Are they friends or something?"

"Maybe Yao's being paid or something..."

"Or threatened. We all know Ivan's real good at doing that... Do remember seeing Toris' back?"

Yao gulped nervously, looking around at anything _but_ Ivan. He looked over at his friends, who were staring at him worriedly, then he glanced over at Kiku, who was looking at him as if expecting him to do something. Finally he let out a small sigh, and walked over to where Ivan was. He sat down, taking out his lunch.

"I'm only doing this to be nice-aru...," he mumbled. Ivan just smiled, childishly tapping his feet underneath the table.

"I don't mind. I always sit by myself so it's nice to have some company!," Ivan said happily. "Besides, I want to get to know you more! You seem like an interesting person."

So this was the big and scary Ivan Braginsky? The one who supposedly carried around led pipes and creeped on others?

_'Seems more like a little kid to me.' _

Yao for the umpteenth time today, and began to eat his lunch, which were beef dumplings he had made himself.

"Oh! Are those dumplings? I've always wanted to try Chinese food, but all my sis makes for me are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." Ivan pouted for a moment, before regaining his childish smile. "But her sandwiches always taste good so I don't complain."

"You mentioned you had sisters before-aru. What are their names?"

"Well, I have two sisters. My little sister's name is Natalya, and she's a sophomore. She's very pretty, but she can be a bit scary and intimidating at times. She's also quite clingy. My other sister's name is Katya. She graduated last year. She's really nice, but a bit of a crybaby sometimes. I love her though, and she takes care of me and Natalya."

"Where are your parents-aru?"

"They're dead."

Yao stopped eating and looked at Ivan as if he'd groan another head. Yao couldn't understand how he could say something like that with a smile. Ivan took notice of Yao's confusion and laughed.

"Don't worry! It was a long time ago! No big deal, да? Besides, I have my sisters, and now I have you too!"

Yao frowned. How could the death of someone's parents not be a big deal? All these questions Yao felt like asking, but he refrained from doing so, feeling like he might offend Ivan. So he settled with a simple "Ah I see," and continued to eat his lunch.

"You have lots of friends. Having friends must be nice..." Yao glanced at Ivan to see him staring over at Yao's table, where his friends were all talking and laughing. Well, Alfred was laughing anyways. Arthur just looked like he wanted to knock his lights out, and Kiku looked scared. He was tempted to go and sit by them, but he felt something holding him back. Nothing was stopping him from leaving. So why didn't he?

Yao was talking before he could even stop himself. "Then why don't I introduce you to them-aru?" He quickly realized what he said, and wanted to take it back. But Ivan immediately shrunk, lowering his head into his scarf a bit.

"U-uh, I don't think that would be a good idea... I don't think they like me. Especially Alfred and Arthur... Even you said you were sitting here just to be nice..."

"I was just embarrassed-aru. You did call out to me from across the cafeteria. Now come on-aru!"

Yao packed up his lunch, and Ivan's as well, seeing how he was being hesitant. He then grabbed Ivan's wrist and hoisted him up, and began to drag him over to his usual table. All of his friends looked up simultaneously, and immediately that all got quiet. As soon as the sat down, Alfred glared at Ivan.

"What's he doing here?," Alfred spat. "Communists aren't allowed here y'know." Ivan didn't say anything, he just smiled. But Yao noticed it was different from his usual childish smile. It was something else.

Kiku tugged gently on Alfred's shirt, and looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Alfred..."

"Ah don't worry about it~." Ivan said with a short giggle. "I wouldn't be offended by a man with a burger for a brain anyways~." Yao stared at Ivan, surprised by his comment. He never thought him to be the rude type.

"Says the creep who goes around beating people with lead pipes. Why'd you bring him over here Yao?"

"I was just trying to help him make friends-aru...," Yao said, looking down at the table. It suddenly seemed much more interesting.

"Well we don't want him here."

Ivan let out another small giggle. "Oh calm down. I only wanted to make peace."

"As much I hate to admit it," Arthur said. "I agree with Alfred."

Ivan's smile transformed into a tight frown. "Oh really? Well if you don't want me here I can leave, but only if Yao-Yao comes with me~." He smiled, looking at Yao expectantly, waiting for him to agree. When Ivan saw the hesitation in Yao's eyes however, he frowned once more. "You want to come with me, right Yao?"

Yao didn't want to answer the Russian male, he just wanted to stay quiet. But it he knew that wouldn't work. "I would like to stay here Ivan. With my friends-aru."

Alfred tried to suppress a smirk of victory, while Ivan just stared at Yao blankly for a moment. His eyes suddenly got dark, and his smile turned crooked. "Alright, Yao-Yao," he said, with a hint of malice in his voice. "You can stay here with your friends. I'll just head back to my table."

With that he left, leaving the others to watch him walk off. Everyone turned their attention back to their previous conversation. Everyone but Yao.

_'It's like he has two different personalities...'_

* * *

**_Finally finished this chapter. Although it feels like I took a while to write this it really didn't. My last update was like Saturday so..._**

**_But anyways, Ivan's got issues now doesn't he? Well we're going to start exploring those issues next chapter, since we're switching over to him for a while. So Yao's going to be on a bit of a break (I guess?)_**

**_Kora signing off! Ciao~!_**


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